In one aspect, the invention relates to a device for indicating fluid flow in a pipe.
Determining whether fluid is flowing through a hard-walled opaque pipe can be important for a number of reasons. In the plant setting, a failure to make the correct determination can result in waste and/or destruction on a massive scale, personal injury, and death.
A device to make it easier to correctly make the determination of whether fluid is flowing through a pipe would be very desirable.
It is an object of this invention to provide a flow indicating device which is highly visible, easy to read, and viewable from any location around the pipe.
It is a further object of this invention to make a view around flow indicator which is easily installed in an existing pipe.
In one embodiment of the invention, there is provided an apparatus comprising a tube, a turbine wheel, and a cylinder. The tube defines a flow path. The turbine wheel is mounted in the tube for rotation alongside an inside wall of the tube. The turbine wheel has a plurality of turbine blades. The cylinder is mounted outside the tube for rotation alongside an outside wall of the tube. The cylinder is magnetically coupled to the turbine wheel through the sidewall of the tube so that rotation of the turbine wheel causes rotation of the cylinder. A visually observable pattern is provided on an outside surface of the cylinder so that rotation of the cylinder can be visually ascertained.
In another embodiment of the invention, there is provided a method for providing a visual indication of flow through an opaque hard walled tube. To carry out the method, a turbine wheel is positioned in the tube for rotation alongside an inside wall of the tube. The turbine wheel has a plurality of turbine blades. A cylinder is positioned on the outside the tube for rotation alongside an outside wall of the tube. The cylinder is magnetically coupled to the turbine wheel through the sidewall of the tube so that rotation of the turbine wheel causes rotation of the cylinder. A visually observable pattern is provided on the outside surface of the cylinder so that rotation of the cylinder can be visually ascertained.